Staff Quarters of Soros Estate Become Hamptons Condos, at $2 Million+ Each

The staff quarters of the Southampton estate now owned by George Soros are being turned into condominiums for those who have between $2 million and $4 million to spend on a Hamptons home but don’t want the hassle of taking care of a whole house.Luxury condominium developments in resorts all over the world have targeted such customers. But until now, zoning regulations have for the most part kept them out of the Hamptons.This month, however, six new luxury condominiums are going on the market. They are the Villas at 456 Old Town Road, containing two- and three-bedroom duplex condominiums ranging in size from 1,700 to 2,700 square feet, with prices from $2.1 million to $4.3 million.The development is the brainchild of Ben and Linda Lambert, New Yorkers with their own estate on the East End who jumped on the opportunity to redevelop an apartment complex they purchased from a friend last year. The location screamed luxury: in the middle of a prestigious estate section, directly across from a pond, two blocks from the beach and Gin Lane, and within walking distance of the village’s commercial center.Of course, it wasn’t any old apartment complex: the two Spanish Revival buildings on 1.2 acres were built as staff quarters in 1914. And now the site is seeing some grand living once again.The stately gates with security-code access are the first signs that something high-end has arrived. Inside are Viking stoves, white marble countertops, and oak floors. Among the distinctive architectural details are coffered ceilings, built-in bookshelves, and deep closets. The bathrooms contain steam showers and Jacuzzi tubs. Each unit has its own private garden with Viking grill, and most have screened porches. The pool is just a few steps away.“We wanted to do it the way we did our own house. We built them as though we’d live in them,” Mrs. Lambert said.The Villas was the Lamberts’ first development project and the first project they’ve worked so closely together on. “We started because we don’t play golf. It’s a little scary but it’s been terrific fun,” Mrs. Lambert said.The Lamberts are targeting several high-end market segments. They believe Europeans will be interested, but they also think the Villas will attract young New Yorkers who want to enter the area as well as older New Yorkers who are downsizing.“It’s for people who don’t want the maintenance of the house. Here everything will be taken care of, especially when they’re away for long stretches, vacationing in Europe or St. Barts,” Mrs. Lambert said.Mr. Lambert emphasized that the process here has been completely different than what takes place in the New York City market. “In New York, there’s so much marketing and the sales take place before the thing is finished. Here the marketing is minimal,” he said. “We decided to finish the units and then show them to people,” Mr. Lambert said.The Villas are being shown exclusively by two brokers: Colleen Nill of Coldwell Banker Prestigious Properties and Barbara Sloan of Allan Schneider Associates.The design is for casual living, with large combined kitchen and living areas and a lot of built-ins. Because the couple enjoys coming out to the Hamptons in the winter, they put gas fireplaces in the living rooms, with the space above the mantel pre-fitted for a thin-screen television — or a painting.When construction started, the contractor, Bulgin & Associates, a partner in the project, was unsure how much of the original structure would be preserved. “By the time we were done we’d discarded everything: It was gutted, no walls, no windows, all you had was a huge open space,” Mr. Lambert, who is the chairman of the real estate bank Eastdil Secured LLC, and the founder of the Harlem Day Charter School, said.There was one construction limitation: the landmark status of the façade. And so the exterior was repaired to look the same as when it was built. Fortunately, its design was in keeping with the luxury look the Lamberts had in mind: Most notable are the terra cotta barrel tiles on the roof, common in more tropical climates.“These buildings were very simple and had an unusually pure look (as opposed to many ‘Hamptons’ homes),” the architect on the project, William Reese, said.The all-new landscaping — except for the cherry trees in the front yard that were part of Frederick Law Olmsted’s original design — is also simple and heavy on the beloved Hamptons hedges, which help create privacy.The units come with unfinished basements, but one drawback is that they’re only accessible from an outside entrance. And the garages are detached and a good stroll from most of the units.The area is zoned for single-family homes on three–acre lots, but the Villas were grandfathered because the property had been a multiple-family dwelling from the beginning. “It is a valid pre-existing nonconforming use,” the village of Southampton’s building inspector, Jonathan Foster, said.There are few such opportunities available in the Hamptons, which is a resort area best known for its sprawling single-family homes and a beachfront untouched by hotels, restaurants, or condominiums. In 1980, 30 units came on the market in a development called Whitefield, which is on the grounds of a former estate (some of the units are in the estate; others are in buildings around it). There are also 16 luxury units at Cooper Town Houses, a high-end complex behind the public library. But it seems to target an aging population with elevators that take residents straight from their garage to their attic.The more pressing housing issue in the area is the limited supply of affordable housing, where the housekeepers, restaurant workers, and teachers could live. The town of Southampton is developing three such projects at the moment where prices range from $45,000 to $125,000.On the high end, most real estate shoppers will be looking at houses. In fact, if a resident of the Villas wants to trade up to a house in a couple of years, he may be able to move across the street. That’s where a private developer is preparing to build 10 homes on 50 acres of farmland occupied by the original settlers in 1640.

Staff Quarters of Soros Estate Become Hamptons Condos, at $2 Million+ Each

Staff Quarters of Soros Estate Become Hamptons Condos, at $2 Million+ Each

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